Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

The slow cooker is a busy chef’s best friend. Very few recipes allow you to “fix it and forget it” for anything from 4 to 8 hours and give the same results for flavor and texture that a slow cooker does. We think you’ll find that this comforting beef stew is the perfect balance of work and rest, and that the end result is totally worth it. Kind of like working out at the gym!

Ingredients

2lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1.5-inch cubes

olive oil

salt and black pepper, to taste

1.5cup celery, chopped

5garlic cloves, minced

1T fresh thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup tomato paste

1T Worcestershire sauce

1cups low-sodium beef broth

1.5 lbs yellow potatoes, cut into 1.5-inch chunks

1lb large carrots (about 4), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1T cornstarch 

1.5cups frozen peas

1/4cup fresh parsley, minced

Steps

1. Dry the meat as much as possible using paper towels, then season well with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven on medium-high heat.
3. Sear the meat in 2-3 small batches to allow for all the pieces to brown evenly on all sides, turning occasionally (about 5-8 minutes total for each batch). Move the seared meat to the slow-cooker and repeat with the rest of the beef.
4. Add more oil to the skillet to saute the onions and celery until the onions start getting translucent—about 5 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
6. Add the thyme, tomato paste, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and some of the beef broth into the pot and stir to deglaze the pan fully and capture all the flavor from browning the meat. Turn off the heat.
7. Add the potatoes and carrots to the slow cooker on top of the beef. Season with additional salt and pepper for the veggies.
8. Pour the mixture from the pan and the remaining beef broth into the slow cooker.
9. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours.
10. About 20-30 minutes before meal time, whisk cornstarch with water and then stir it gently into the slow cooker. 
11. Add the frozen peas and half of the parsley.
12. Let everything stew for another 20-30 minutes.
13. Garnish with the rest of the fresh parsley.

Tips: 

• If you trim and cut your own chuck roast, buy a larger roast (2.5 lbs) so you wind up with about 2 lbs when cubed.
• Though you could technically put everything into the slow-cooker without the browning steps, searing the meat first and sautéing the veggies builds so much great flavor that it’s worth the time! 
• If you have more herbs on hand, adding some rosemary or marjoram along with the thyme would taste great.

Nutrition Information

Makes eight servings. One serving contains approximately 283 calories, 9.1g fat, 11.9g carbs and 37.1g protein.

Recipe courtesy of Anytime Fitness